Process of making tires.



J. R. GAMMETER & W. H. ALLEN. 'PRmEss OF MAKING mas.

APPLICATIKJH FILED NOV-11.1910- 1 183 511 Patented May 16, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- J. R. GAMMETER 61 W. H. ALLEN.

PROCESS OF MAKING TIRES. APPLICATION FILED NOV-11,1910.

L 5 Maw 2 $HEETSSHEET 2- imwmmr s M 1 mil/W 1 JOHN R. GAMMETER AND WALTER H. ALLEN, OF AKRON, O HIO, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE B. F. GOODRIGH COMPANY, A'CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF MAKING TIRES;

1,183,551. sp a of Letters e Patented May is, 11916.

, Application filed November 11, 1910. Serial No. 591,770. i 1

To all whom it may concern: spider, and Fig. 9 is a transverse section Be it known that we, JOHN R. GAMMETER through a completed tire made with our maand WALTER H. ALLEN, citizens of the chine and shown mounted upon a wheel United States, residing in the city of Akron, felly.

county of Summit, and State of Ohio, have Referring to the drawings in detail and invented certain new and useful Improveparticularly to Fig. 9, it will be seen that ments in -Processes of Making Tires, of the form of the tire which it is desired to which the following is a specification. make, comprises a tire body or tire proper This invention relates to..improvements in 1 of resilient material molded upon and 10 methods of building up of solid rubber tires preferably vulcanized to a metal base or rim or similar articles. Solid rubber tires have 2, adapted to be secured by flanges, not been made in which the body of the tire of reshown, or in any other suitable manner, to a. I silient material was vulcanized to and carsteel rim 4, shrunk or otherwise-mounted ried by a harder composition, which latter upon the wheel felly 3. The resilient por- 15 is in' turn vulcanized to and carried by a tion of the tire may be formed throughout metallic band capable of being attached to of a homogeneous compound, but we prefer a rim mounted upon the telly of a wheel in to make the same in at least two layers, the a more rigid and simpler manner than was inner one of'which 5, which engages directly attainable in the attaching of therubber with the metallic rim, being preferably 20 tire directly to the channel or rim of a formed of acompound of such nature that wheel. Difficulties have been experienced, when vulcanized it will become comparahowever, in applying the rubber compound 'tively h'ard. U on this layer of compound to the metallic base or rim, particularly is laid an outer ayer 6, compounded in such ,,where the latter 'was grooved or otherwise a Way that when subjected to the vulcaniz- 25 roughened to cause the rubber to'interlock ing action it will acquire the proper rewith it and adhere to it closely. siliency to render it capable of acting as a A Our inventions com rise improved proccushion and to make it suitable for engageesses by which therub er compound can be ment with the road surface. The entire tire evenly laid upon the metal base or rinnand 1s preferably vulcanized at one operation,

30 forced into any grooves formed in therim but the nature of the compounds forming for the purpose of interlocking with the the layers 5\and 6 is such that with the rubber, and an improved machine for prac: same degree of vulcanization each assumes tising said processes. I the desired degree of hardness.

In the accompanying drawings which Referring now to our apparatus, the same 35 form a part of this specification, and in comprises a spider or chuck 10, capable of which an apparatus adapted to perform our supporting the rim 2. The spider preferinventionis shown by way of illustration, ably comprises a seriesv of arms, shown as Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine four, two of which have pointed ends 11,

for carrying out the method; Fig. 2 is a which engage withih the rim, while'the ends.

40 side olevation'of the same, the driving gearof the other two arms are bent at right aning and roll carrying journal boxes being gles, as indicated at 12 in Fig. 7 ,pointed set omitted for the sake of. clearness; Fig. 3 is screws passin through the openings in the a longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged portions 12. he set screws are drawn back scale illustrating the action of the wire belt in and the rim applied to the spider, being 45 rolling the rubber compound upon the'rim; rested upon the pointed ends 11, when the Fig. 4 is a section on line IV-IV of Fig. set screws may be screwed out and caused 3; Fig. 5 is a plan, and Fig-6 is a side to engage portions of the rim oppositeto elevation of the wire belt and drums carrythose engaged by points 11. e The. spider 11 ing the same; Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views is journaled upon a stub-shaft 14 projecting 50 of portions of the arms of the rim carrying from an arm 15 supported at one end from a of the endless wire guide the turns shaft 16, journaled in bearings 17 secured to a fixed support. It is obvious that in place of the spider any other suitable means for rotatably supporting the rim may be employed.

Below the rim is mounted a pair of drums 18 and 19 which carry a wire belt or series of wire belts 20. Each belt may be formed of a single endless wire passed a number of times over the drums which are preferably grooved, or may be formed of a plurality of individual endless wires. The former is the referred construction,- as a greater uniormity of tension onthe different turns is attainable. In-this construction, the turns pass around the drums, lying in grooves and keep them all parallel, excepting the single length of wire passing diagonally-from the outermost groove of one drum to the outermost groove of the other drum across the lower run of the belt.

This diagonal return strand 52 is brought into parallel With the other strands opposite the groove or drum 18 intended to receive it by a fixed guide 53 which changes the direction of this strand. The shaft 21 of the drum 18 is journaled in a bracket 22, projecting from a fixed support, a sprocket 23 being secured to the shaft and receiving power from any suitable source in order to rotate the drum 18 and drive the belt 20. The shaft 2% of the drum 19. is journaled in bearings formed in the ends of a pair of arms 25 pivoted to the shaft 21, of the drum 18, the ends of these pivoted arms being supported in any suitable manner, as upon standards 26.

The periphery of the rim2 rests upon the upper run of the wire belt and is pressed thereagainst by its own weight, which may be supplemented,"if necessary, by hanging a weight 27 upon the end of the arm 15. The layer of rubber compound 30 is fed upon the belt 20 and carried by the latter into engagement with the rim upon which it is rolled. The separate wires of the belt force ner, but it is preferable to the rubber into engagement with the rim, following the contour of the latter whether regular or otherwise. For instance, if the rim is provided with undercut circumferential grooves 31, as shown, some of the wires 32 will enter these grooves and roll the rubber compound thoroughly thereinto.

As will be obvious, fiat bands may be used, if desired, in place of the round Wires shown, but the latter are preferable as the pressure which they exert upon the material to be rolled upon the rim is localized and their action is therefore more effectual,

The strip of rubber compound 30, may be supplied to the belt in any desired manratus above described adjacent to a calendering machine,

therein which serve to mount the appautilizing the frames 40 of the latter as the support for the bearings 17 and brackets 22.

The calendering machine may be of any well known construction, that shown com. prising the upright frames L0 having vertical openings 41 therein in which slide the journal boxes 42 carrying the massive metal rolls 43, The mass of rubber compound M is fed from a platform 45 between the upper pair of calendering rolls, passing in a strip around the middle roll, between the middle and lower roll, and around and beneath the latter tothe belt 20. The rolls 43 are geared together by means of spur gears 4:6, one of the rolls, preferably the middle one, carrying the large gear 47 driven from a pinion 48 carried on the shaft of a motor 49, or in Thepower for- 1 rolling the rubber compound upon the rims,

one complete machine being provided for each of the different compounds to be incorporated in the tire. The rim is then placed upon the machine feeding the compound to be used for the base of the tire and put in operation. The strip of compound 30 passes between the rolls and upon the traveling belt 20, which rolls it'upon the rim, causing the latter to revolve through frictional cola: tact. The location of the apparatus adjacent the calendering machine affords the a41- vantage of supplying the strip of rubber compound to the belt before the compound has lost that degree of tackiness resulting from the temperature of the calendering. Not only does the warm condition of the rubber by its greater tackiness tend to increase the homogeneity of the tire as wound,

but such condition also permits utilization of the shrinkage of the rubber in cooling, whereby an increased ,adheslon between layers is further promoted. When the rubber has been rolled upon the rim to a sufficient thickness, the rim is removed and placedupon the second machine, which ap plies the compound for forming the outer part of the tire. After enough of this has been rolled upon the rim, the rim and tire are placed in a mold and subjected to a vulcanizing action, which cures the rubber and causes the same to adhere firmly to the metal rim.

The wire belt is particularly efiicarious on the first few layers of rubber in securing the desired degree of interlocking with the ribs in the rim, and it is possible to use in its place any suitable form of pressure device,

preferably, however, of a yielding nature, for rolling the outer layers.

' Our process is not limited to performance with any particular apparatus. The machine herein illustrated is claimed in a divisional application Serial Number 742,128, filed January 15, 1913.

Having'thus described our invention, we claim: I

1. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding asheet of rubber compound about a rim until a sufficient number of layers to give the desired thicknessof tire are applied, and then vulcamzmg the tire while upon the rim;

2. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound about a rim until a suflicient number of layers to give the desired thickness of tire are applied, and then subjecting the rubber structure thus built up, while on the rim, to a vulcanizing action, thus uniting the successive layers of rubber to each other and uniting the rubber structure to the rim.

3. The process of forming the tread portions of solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound about .a

rim into substantially cylindrical form until the tread contains a sufficient number of substantially cylindrical layers to give the required thickness of tread, and then vulcanizing the tread thus built up.

4. The process of forming the tread portions of solid rubber tires consisting in applying successive'thin layers of rubber compound to arim in substantially cylindrical 40 form, and rolling each layer as applied into a homogeneous or welded contact with the preceding layer, andvulcanizing the tread thus built up.

5. The process of forming complete solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound into substantially cylindrical form upon an annular support.

6. The process of forming complete solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound into substantially cylindrical form upon an annular support, and vulcanizing the same.

7. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound upon an annulus until a laminated base has been built up from the successive windings, and then overlaying said base with a second sheet of rubber compound of such ingrediency that it will become less hard under the temperature of vulcanization, and winding such second sheet upon the laminated base until a laminated tread has been built up on said base.

8. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound upon an annulus of metal, graduating the width of said sheet to the dimensions of the tire to be formed, until a laminated base has been built up from the successive windings, and then overlaying said base with a second sheet of rubber compound of such ingrediency that it will become less hard under the temperature of vulcanization, and winding such second sheet upon the laminated base, and graduating the Width of such second sheet in approximate correspondence to the desired dimensions of the tire to be formed, until a laminated tread has been built up on said base.

9. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound upon an annulus of metal, until a laminated base has been built up from the successive windings, and then superposing a second sheet of rubber compound of such ingrediency that it will become less hard under the temperature of vulcanization, and winding such second sheet upon the laminated base until a laminated tread has been 7 built up on said base, and vulcanizing the tire thus formed directly upon said annulus.

10. The process of forming solid rubber grediency that it will become less hard under the temperature of vulcanization, and winding such second sheet upon the laminated base, and graduating the width of such second sheet in approximate correspondence to the desired dimensions of the tire to be formed, until a laminated tread has been built up on said base, and vulcanizing the tire thus formed directly upon and to said annulus.

11. The process offorming a solid rubber tire having a basic core of rubber harder than the parts external thereto consisting in winding a band of rubber upon a metallic rim in layers; forcing said hand, during its winding, against said rim; and then superposing a second band of rubber characterized by greater resistance to vulcanization greater resistance to vulcanization than the first, and winding it upon the core formed by the first band in layers.

13. The process of forming a solid rubber tire having a basic core of rubber harder than the parts external thereto consisting in Winding a band of rubber upon a metallic rim in layers; and then superposing a second band of rubber characterized by greater resistance to vulcanization than the first, and winding it upon the core formed by the first band in layers, and vulcanizing the tire thus formed directly upon said band.

14. The process of forming a solid rubber tire having a basic core of rubber harder than the parts external thereto consisting in winding a bandof rubber upon a metallic rim in layers; forcing said band, during its winding, against said rim; and then superosing a' second band of, rubber character- 1zed bygreater resistance to vulcanization than the first, and winding it upon the core formed by the first band in layers, and forcing each layer as deposited against its predecessor, and vulcanizing the' tire thus formed directly upon said band.

15. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in Winding a sheet of rubber compound about a form in successive layers, rolling each layer as applied into homogeneous or Welded contact with the preceding layer by means acting upon the rubber in a plurality of adjacent parallel .paths atdifferent depths, and vulcanizing the resulting structure.

16. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in windinga strip of plastic rubber in cylindrical form, progressively wrapping such strip and impressing each successive portion of said strip as wrapped into substantially parallel corrugations running lengthwise of said strip.

17. The process of forming cushion tires consisting in winding a strip of plastic compound in cylindrical form of desired diameter, progressively Wrapping s'uch strip about itself and corrugating each layer as applied, and vulcanizing the resultant struc ture.

The process of forming cushion tires consisting in forming a solid base of rubber compound or similar elastically resilient material capable of vulcanization, by coiling a strip of said material upon itself in cylindrical form, striating the surface of. each successive coil thereof as wound, and vulcanizing the completed structure.

19. The step in the process of forming a rubber tire having a base of harder rubber than the tread, by forming and Winding upon itself a strip of rubber compound of progressively increasing resistance to vulcanization.

20. The step in the process of forming rubber tires of the cushion type by winding a strip of sheet rubber in annular form upon itself, consisting in impressing a series of parallel indentations upon said strip. '21. The process of making solid rubber tires which consists in wrapping a strip of warm freshlyrcalendered rubber compound upon itself on an annular support, said strip shrinking as it cools,. and vulcanizing the resultant structure. g 22. The process of forming the base of a solid rubber tire consisting in winding 3. strip of warmjplastic rubber in cylindrical ,form and impressing the strip as wrapped into substantially parallel corrugations running lengthwise of the strip. 23. The process of forming cushion tires consisting in winding a strip of plastic compound. in cylindrical form of the desired diameter, corrugating the strip as applied, and vulcanizing the resultant structure. 24. The steps in the process of making solid rubber tires having bases of harder vulcanizing compound than the treads cor! sisting in forming a strip of rubber compound of uniform thickness and decreasing hardness and supplying such strip while in the-tacky state resultant from the forming means direct to a tire-forming means.

JOHN R.- GAMMETER. W. H. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

WALTER K. MEANS, Marcus H. HILL.

Disclaimer in Letters Patent No. 1,183,551.

. 1,183,55L John R. Gcmmeter and Walter H. Allen,

rubber compound about a 1 thickness of tire are applied, and then vulcanizing the tire ZDISOZIZ'IAIMLER.

Akron, Ohio.

MAKING lmns. Patent dated May 16, 1916. Disclaimer filed November 7, 1916, by the assigneo, The B. F. Goodrich Company.

Enters the disclaimer- To the subject-matter of the followin claims, to wit:

1. The process of forming solid rub er tires consisting rim until a sufficient number of thickness of tire are applied, and then subjecting the rubber structure thus built up,

while on the rim,-to a vulcanizin action, thus uniting the successive layers of rubber to each other and uniting the rubber structure to the run.

- terized by greater resistance to vulcanization than the first,

The process of forming the tread win ding a sheet of rubber com until the tread contains a su portions of solid rubber tires consisting in ound about a rlmmto substantiallyZylindricalform cient number of substantially cylin rical layers to sheet of port.

6. The process of forming complete solid rubber tires consisting in windin a sheet of ru ber compound into substantially cylindrical form upon an annu ar support, and vulcanizmg the same. 1

7. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound u on an annulus until a laminated base has been built up from the successive W111 until a laminated tread has been built u on said base.

9. The process of forming solid rubber tires consisting in winding a sheet of rubber compound upon an annulus of metal, until a laminated base has been built up from the successive windings, and then superposing a second sheet of rubber compound of such ingrediency that it will become less hard under the temperature of vulcanization. anc winding such second sheet upon the laminated base until a laminated tread has been built up 'on saicl'base, and vulcanizing the tire thus formed directly u onsaid annulus.

12. T 0 process of forming a solid rubber tire having a basic core of rubber harder than the parts external thereto consisting in windin a band of rubber upon a metallic rim in layers; and then super osing a second hand of rubber characand winding it upon the core formed by the first band in layers. a

13. The process of forming a solid rubber tire having a basic core of rubber harder than the parts external thereto consisting in winding a band of rubber upon a metallic rim in layers;

3 ized by greater resistance to vulcanization than the first, and winding it upon the I core formed bythe first band in layers, and vulcanlzmg the tire thus formed d1- rectly upon sald band.

1 her than the tread, by

19. The step in the fprocess of forming a rubber tire having a base of harder rubrming and wmdmg upon itself a strip of rubber compound of progressively increasing resistance to vulcanization.

1 vulcanizing compound 1 pound r while in the tacky state resultant from the meansfi,

[Ofiict'cl Gazette, November 21, 1916.]

21. The process of making solid rubber tires which consists in wrapping a strip of warm freshly-calendered rubber compound upon itself on an annu ar support, said str' shrinking as it cools, and vulcanizing the resultant structure.

24. he steps in the process of making so id rubber tires having bases of harder than the treads consisting in forming a stri of rubber com of uniform thickness and decreasin hardness and supp ying such strip i n'ming means direct to a tire-forming Paoonss or l 

